In Clio Manage, you can use the contact custom fields migration template to bulk import custom field data into existing contacts, so firm-specific contact information is captured and consistent across your database. If you are importing custom fields into many contacts, export your contact list first and copy the first and last names into their respective columns for accuracy.
Before importing, review Get Started with Migration Templates for best practices on formatting, column headers, and file preparation.
Important: Do not create custom fields set as Default or Required in Clio Manage before importing. Imports will fail if these settings are active. Confirm all contacts and custom fields exist in Clio Manage and remove any existing custom field selections from contacts before importing. After the import is complete, you can set custom fields as Default or Required.
Note: Custom fields that include special characters (?, :, /, etc.) will not import into Clio. Remove any special characters before continuing, including colons if used in contact names.
Required fields
- Contact: First name, last name, or company name (must match an existing contact).
- Custom field column headers: Must exactly match custom field names in Clio Manage.
Import contact custom fields
- Create the relevant custom fields in Clio Manage before importing.
- Download the Contact custom fields import template (North America).
- Populate the spreadsheet with your contact custom fields information using the field reference below.
- Delete any unused row cells, then save the file in CSV format.
- On the Clio Manage Imports page (https://app.clio.com/imports), click Add.
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Under Import, select Notes from CSV.
Note: Select Notes from CSV even though you are importing custom fields. This is how Clio processes custom field data. The Successes count will remain at 0 after the import — this is expected behavior. Your custom field data will still be added.
- Click Choose File and select your saved CSV file.
- Click Upload File.
Field reference
- first_name, last_name, company_name: Enter an exact match to the first, last, or company name of an existing contact in Clio Manage. Required.
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Custom field column headers: Edit column headers to exactly match the name of each custom field created in step 1, then populate each column with its respective data. Required.
- Dates: MM/DD/YYYY format.
- Checkboxes: True (checked) or False (unchecked).
- Picklists: Pre-enter all possible options in Clio before importing.
Up Next
To import custom fields linked to matters, see Import Matter Custom Fields With Migration Templates. For general import instructions and error review, see Get Started with Migration Templates.